Beauty Army- March 2013

And here we go!  My first box with beauty army!  I had been wait-listed for Birchbox and Ipsy so I went with Beauty Army as well because I knew I would get it right away!

 

What a beautiful pink box!

 And cammo no less!

Here is what I got:
1. GG Gatsby Raise Volume Conditioner:  This product was ok.  The smell was fine and the result was fine.  I am not sure I noticed any extra volume.  Next time I will probably not use the rest of my hair products with the conditioner to see if it actually creates more volume.

2. mark. Hook Up Lip Gloss in Blow Kisses: More on this below

3. Nelson J Beverly Hills Argon Oil 7 Non-Foaming Shampoo:  LOVED!!  I can't wait to buy this product.  I literally have already told 6 people about it.  It left my hair looking great with only this product.  I can't explain how shocked and awed I was!

4. Olive Natural Beauty's "The Olive Bar" in Lemon & Lavender.  This soap smelled good and worked it just didn't wow me at all.  I have no reason to buy this soap over any other soap that I could get with a similar smell and result.

5. Skinn Cosmetics "Colour Touch Eye, Cheek and Lip Glow" in Teen Tone: I have tried this on my eye, cheek and lip.  It looks great on the eyes and cheeks.  It is quite a soft pink color and looks quite natural.  On my lips it really washed me out unfortunately so I won't be doing that again! :)  Perhaps a darker color for the lips would work better as a 3-in-1 for my skin tone.

 This is the mark. lip gloss.  It's a nice red in the bottle which I really like.  I am a big ran of red lip products.

This is it on.  The lighting is poor but you can get a general idea of the glossiness.  I love this product.  The color is fab but not too much and it isn't sticky at all.  I can't wait to try another shade in the gloss!

Hard Candy Polish Swatches

Hey there!  Since I'm new at this, I'm having a hard time getting in the swing of things.  Regardless of whether or not people read this, I will stay the course!

This is a swatch of OPI by Nicole, Still into Pink.  I LOVED this color.  I can't wait to paint my nails with this again.  It is a HOT HOT HOT pink with a matte finish.  I was so excited for the Hard Candy nail polishes that were going to be released at WalMart.  While driving by one of the few and far between WalMarts in Southern California (That is not a joke.  There is 1 WalMart for every 4 Targets) my kids had to pee.  Perfect!!

 

This is "Still into Pink" with a top coat of the Hard Candy polish "Black Tie Optional".  It was the last one in the WalMart that I went to.  The other 2 WalMarts that I went to (one didn't carry Hard Candy at all) didn't have this polish at all.  LUCKY.  I love it!

 



 

Next we have "Mermaid Magic".  This is a aqua and deep purple glitter.  I thought it would look good over a deep purple that matched the glitter (some essence polish, I can't remember the color right now).  I was wrong.  It took away from the beauty of the polish.. a LOT.  Next time I try it over a lighter base.

 

 

 



Lastly, we  have "Sweet Tooth".  I thought this polish would be more like speckled polish.  It's actually a glitter polish in a transparent jelly like base.  In the bottle it looks like blue, on the fingers it clearly looks pink.  I like this although it isn't what I thought it would be.  Above is 3 coats.

Sally Hansen Extreme Effects & Julep March 2013 reveal!

Hello?  Is anybody out there? :)  I am sure there are some.. stop by and say hello!

 

In other news, I had to work on a Saturday (thank God that doesn't happen often) and decided to try out the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Polish Strips in Gold.

 

I really like how these turned out.  I didn't apply them perfectly though.  I think there is a little bit of a learning curve.  I had a hard time "folding it over the tip" like they say to do and then filing.  I ended up filing a little too close to the nail so some of them had some tip wear right away.  They are supposed to slightly stretch to fit the nail but when I tried to stretch mine, I might have pulled to hard because it actually made a little hole.  I don't feel like any of these things is apparent in the picture but I had to be honest!

And now for the big reveal!

 

 

As everyone says, Julep has great packaging.  I don't want to throw away anything.  The paper, the ribbon.. I guess I could do away with the cardboard box and the paper "spaghetti" or whatever that is called.  Does this make me a hoarder?  I worry sometimes.. I did force myself to throw this away though.  I'm not so sure I'll have the strength next time.  Don't judge!

 

I did the classic with a twist box this month.  I ended up with Debra and Simone.  Debra is a smoky beige and Simone is a opalescent Lilac. 

 

 

When I first saw Debra, I knew there was something I had to try.  I had first seen this idea here. 

 

 



 

That is  ELF chocolate over Debra using Winstonia plate 113.  I think it turned out pretty good!

 

Here is a shot of the Hand Crème included.  The cap is different than any lotion I have ever had.  You twist the bottom and there is a little hole that opens up.  Lotion could get stuck in that little hole if you aren't careful about applying the lotion but I haven't had a problem with that so far.  I like the feel of the lotion and I am getting used to the way it smells.  It has a smell that I feel would appeal to "little old ladies".  It's that kind of floral.  I don't really know how else to explain it.  It's floral but musty smelling.  Like I said, I'm growing to like it, the older I get! ;)

Free gift was this strawberry-mint lip balm.  It's sooooo soft.  It is the softest lip balm that I have ever owned.  I would think that also means keep it away from body heat and don't leave it in the car if you value this lip balm.  This is a picture of me wearing the lip balm.  Very little color if any.

 

Speaking of Julep lip color.  Remember how I got Poppy in my Mystery Box a month ago and was worried about it?  Yeah not anymore.  I LOVE IT!  I just had to get used to going outside of my comfort zone color-wise.  I am so glad I did!

 

 

 

Don't my lips look happy?  Happy, Happy, HAPPY!!!

 

 

Springtime Flowers

My lastest mani!  I love how this turned out!  I need a little practice with the dotting tool and dry time of the polishes.  I was trying to achieve the "shaded petal" effect by using the dotting tool to remove a little bit of paint from the middle of the petal in a light scraping motion.  I think it worked but sometimes the polish was a little too dry.

These are the tools I used. 
* Essence Colour and Go in Ulitmate Pink
* Essence Colour and Go in Oh My Glitter
* Maybelline Salon Expert in French Tip White
* Essie Tart Deco
* Standard Dotting Tool
* Rhinestones bought from Michaels.

This was the last attempt at Water marbling that I never uploaded to the previous post.  My mom told me she couldn't really see the color difference so I made this one!  These 4 fingers turned out really well and I can't wait to find the time to try again!













My Coach glasses I picked up at Nordstroms Rack.  LOVE! (Not nail related, but I love them!!)

And this is me!  Shine on!

Water Marbling Day

I am sick today so I had some time to work on water marbling (until the medicine wore off).  I had varying levels of success.

Attempt #1:

 

These weren't the colors that I wanted to use at all but they did seem to work well to at least get the design technique down.

 

 

Attempt #2:

 

 

These two nails turned out perfect.  Bad news is, only these 2! These colors were impossible to work with  I guess they were too thick?

 

 

 

 Attempt #3:

 

These still didn't turn out quite the way I wanted them to because the pinks look to similar from far away.  I had a hard time getting all the mess from the previous manicures off my nails as well.  I'll have to try this technique again!

Dripping in Gold!

Today I decided to dedicate my mani to the Oscars.  It doesn't matter if I win or not, it was a pleasure being nominated! What? :)

This was done using a dotting tool. The colors I used were Orly 'Liquid Vinyl' and Julep 'Felicity.' I also added a little but of glitter to the gold with ELF 'Golden Goddess'

My Previous (VERY MESSY) Manicures

 

 

Hey guys,  I wanted to post some of my manicures that I did before I started this blog.  Instead of saving them for a later date, I wanted to post them now.  A lot of them are in bad condition but I am learning and still wanted to share!  If you have any tips for me, comment below! 

 

** Galaxy Manicure**

 

This is with a right hand/left hand comparison.  I put holographic topcoat on the picture on the right.  I actually liked the nails on the left better but consensus from people at work etc. was that they preferred the hand on the right.

** Nude/Black/Silver **

 

 

My mom saw a picture that I had liked on my facebook page of a nude polish with silver design so I did this one.. for my mommy!

 

** Half Moon **

 

This is my first attempt at a half moon manicure.  I also put a holographic top coat on this one.  I really like how it turned out.

 

** Watercolor w/ sponge technique **

 

Yeah no, this is just a hot mess.  I had good intentions!  I did the sponging technique with the base coat and then hand painted hearts on top. :)

 

** OPI Sand French tip **

 

Originally I only painted my nails with the OPI Sand.  My mom's friend recommended that I make it a French with black tips.   DONE!  This one didn't turn out half bad.

 

** Animal Print **

 

Holy Acetone dried out hands Batman! I liked how this one turned out as well.

 

** Vintage Rose attempt 2 **

 

I really like this color scheme.  I will for sure be doing more roses later.

 

** Vintage Rose Attempt #1 **

 

Above was my first attempt at the roses.  I don't think they turned out too bad but my sister said they just look like purple splotches with weird green things.  She didn't know they were roses until I'd said so.  FAIL!

 

** Freehand New Year's Manicure **

 

This was my first attempt with my nail art brushes that I got for Christmas.  For it being my first attempt, I'm pretty happy with how it had turned out!

 

 

** First Stamping Attempt **

 

I am still trying to figure stamping out.  Don't get discouraged.. there is a learning curve!  I'll be trying again soon! :)

Watercolor Technique

To do this, I started out with a 2 coats of Revlon Guava and 2 coats of top coat.  Then I took the other colors I used (ask if interested) and put them on a plastic bag in their own designated area.  I then filled the cap of my acetone nail polish remover about half way.  I took a small dollop of the first color that I wanted to use and then dipped the nail art brush into the acetone to water the polish down. I made random splotches all over the nail.  I wasn't happy with how distinct each color looked so I then dipped the brush in acetone and just worked on each nail until I was happy with how it turned out.  You want to be careful because too much acetone and you get to your base color.  You can see that happened on a few nails but it wasn't so bad that it ruined the look.

Everything's Coming Up Rainbows

Hello again!  I've been under the weather which makes this nail design a little ironic since it's blue skies and rainbows!  I am not happy with how the rainbow turned out but I am SO happy with how the clouds came out that to me, it makes up for it!

I used a dotting tool for the clouds and a small nail art brush for the rainbow.  Again, I wish the rainbow had turned out differently but I guess that only means I'll have to try again!

Happy Valentines Day & Julep's Cupid Mystery Box!

Hello!

Today I have a picture of the hearts I put in my hair.  Just too little braids twisted into hearts.  I know it isn't nail polish related but since I have hearts on my hands and hearts in my hair, I thought it relevent!  I got the idea from HairRomance on Facebook.. Like them!

In Nail Polish news:

I got my Julep Cupid Mystery Box today!  I was a little disappointed I didn't get a bigger box but we can't all be winners!  I will say that I didn't get the promised holographic nail polish or voucher for a color of my choice (which I have a wish list for!) so I had to contact customer service about that but it seems to have been a common problem.

At the top is a Lip Vernis called Poppy.  It's a bright coral which I am not used to.  I was shocked when I put it on and immediately layered some pink shimmer gloss on top to calm it down.  It could be because I am wearing red today but it just did not go with my complexion!

Next is Jane (Bombshell) which is a copper glitter.  I expect the application to be similar to Barbara which was 2-3 coats to get it opaque with no base color.

Susie (Classic with a Twist):  Pale Mint.  Looks really pretty and I might use it for a vintage rose mani soon.

Alfie:  Metallic Purple.  I am worried this one could get streaky but I really like the shade.

Audrey (Classic with a Twist):  A pale pink shimmer.  I would love if the color on the nail mimics that of what it looks like in the bottle.  That cotton candy pink is gorgeous.  I have a feeling this is going to turn out a lot less opaque than I am hoping for.

That's it for today.  I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines day.  If you don't have a date, just stay home and do your nails. In fact, I might use that as an excuse to get out of a chore or 2 myself!

Valentines Day Mani

This is the mani I am currently wearing.  I just became a Julep Maven (which you can also do at Julep.com!  The first box was free with the discount code FREEBOX).  They ask you a few questions and assign you a profile.  I got assigned to "Classic with a Twist"!  The colors given to me in the box were Meryl (Creme gray) and Barbara (Magenta glitter).  I loved the gray so much and wore it in a mani yesterday that I promptley ruined.  I will upload pictures of my previous horrible manis in a bit.  It's a learning curve and I'm not too shy to share my mistakes!  Anyways..... I wanted to use the gray again so I paired it with Barbara to make the ultimate "Classic with a Twist"-starter-box-Valentines-Day mani!  I used a heart shaped hole punch for the hearts.  I punched the heart out of masking tape, stuck the heart I punched out on my ring finger and "left overs" on my thumb.  That is why the heart is gray on the thumb and glittery on the ring finger!  I then used some sequins I picked up at a 99 cent market to make the heart pop out a bit more.  

Again, I am new to this blogging thing, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

Hello World

Ha!  See what I did there?  Programming joke right off the bat!  I'm not sure this is even going to be the thing for me but I thought I would give it a shot!  I have recently found a love for all things nail polish related.  I will be posting my manicures here as often as I can.  Being that I am new to the polish world, my designs are anything but perfect, but I have nothing to hide!  Let's see where this new venture takes me!

*EDIT* I haven't even told my friends or family about this site yet because I am so nervous!